Hyderabad suburban transport services to get a further boost

The Hyderabad suburban passenger transport services on the busy Ghatkesar section will get a further boost with Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu announcing the MMTS project on a cost sharing basis with Telangana government.

The state government had earlier requested the Minister to include extension of MMTS services from Ghatkesar to Raigir at the temple town of Yadagiri on a cost sharing basis by offering to bear two-thrids of the estimated Rs 330 crore expenditure for the project.

Read more from our special coverage on "UNION RAIL BUDGET 2016-17"

• Hail Consumer! Prabhus Janta-Friendly Rail Budget
• Raman Singh Hails Rail budget 2016-17
• Jersey cow Railway has derailed, says Lalu
• Railways to become an engine of employment generation: Prabhu

The MMTS services have become popular in and around Hyderabad and the phase two of these services is currently underway. One of the stretches of MMTS phase 2 is between Secunderabad station and Ghatkesar covering 21 kms and the state government wanted it to be extended by another 32 kms for a seamless travel for passengers visiting the temple town from the city.

The Railway Minister also considered the request of the state government for the sanction a third line between Kazipet and Vijayawada to enable speedier goods transport among other things. The Ministry has allocated Rs 114 crore for the proposed third line besides allocating Rs 186 crore for three more railway lines in the state.

AP to benefit from freight corridor project

Meanwhile, the minister has allocated Rs 250 crore for the new lines between Kotipally and Narsapur and between Pithapuram and Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh besides announcing a freight corridor between Kharagpur in Odisha and Vijjayawada, the capital region of of AP. This is one of the three dedicated corridors with other two being Delhi-Chennai and Kharagpur-Mumbai. announced by the Railway Minister.

However, the budget made no mention about the new railway zone at Visakhapatnam, a demand being made by the AP government. The government has been asking for a separate railway zone after the bifurcation of the state as the headquarters of the South Central Railways (SCR) zone is headquartered in Secunderabad in Telangana.

---

ends